Confidential student information may not be confidential anymore.
Effected Belmont students and alumni began receiving emails on Feb. 22, regarding an “inadvertent disclosure of confidential student information,” the Office of Information Security said.
The information that was shared included names, gender, BUID numbers, classification, campus and personal email addresses, cumulative GPA and high school GPA.
Sensitive data that could lead to identity theft was not included.
There are no further actions being taken by the university towards this individual because the individual does not currently work at Belmont, Belmont Public Relations said in a statement to the Belmont Vision.
Once the university became aware of this situation, the original file was destroyed by Belmont’s IT team, Information Security said in its email.
The email also said that there is no evidence that more copies exist.
“The previous process has been changed to prevent future occurrences of such disclosures. In addition, the Office of Information Security is working closely with Student Formation to develop further safeguards for student information regarding what is disclosed and with whom,” the statement said.
Regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects some of the information contained in the leak, the statement said Belmont is ensuring that it follows all FERPA guidelines.
“Belmont was not required by FERPA to notify the affected individuals about the inadvertent disclosure but chose to do so in the spirit of honesty and transparency. The University’s actions since learning of the disclosure have been consistent with FERPA, and even exceeding the requirements of FERPA,” the statement said.
The Office of Student Engagement and the Office of Information Security have not responded to a request for comment.
This story will be updated with more information when provided.
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This article was written by Elisabeth Gage